A human rights group on Monday accused Italy of forcibly returning would-be migrants to Libya, failing to screen them for possible asylum requests and exposing them to abuse in the North African country.
The Interior Ministry did not immediately comment on the 92-page report by Human Rights Watch. But Rome has maintained that possible asylum claims are processed in Libya and that its treatment of migrants is fair.
Under a recent deal with Libya, Italy can intercept migrant boats at sea and send them back to Libya without screening them first for asylum. This policy has subjected Premier Silvio Berlusconi and his conservative government to widespread criticism, including from the Catholic Church.
The report said Italy fails to determine not only if some might apply for refugee status but also if anyone is sick, injured, pregnant or an unaccompanied child. It says this policy is in violation of Italy's obligation not to force people back to places where they face the risk of degrading treatment, or worse.
"The reality is that Italy is sending people back to abuse," said Bill Frelick, refugee policy director at Human Rights Watch and the author of the report. "Migrants who had been detained in Libya consistently spoke of brutal treatment and overcrowded and unsanitary conditions," he said.
The report also urges the European Union and its external borders agency, Frontex, to ensure access to asylum. Frelick said Italy's fellow EU member states "should refuse to participate in Frontex operations that result in the return of migrants to abuse."
The United Nations high commissioner for refugees echoed the report's concerns.
"We don't think that in Libya there are conditions that allow for a protection space for bona fide asylum seekers to exist," Antonio Guterres said Monday, speaking in Brussels, where he attended a meeting of EU interior ministers.
"There are ... circumstances that are appalling, and there is an effective risk that people that deserve and need protection will be sent back to their countries of origin," he said.
The report by Human Rights Watch was based on interviews, mostly conducted in May, with 91 migrants and asylum seekers in Italy and Malta, the group said. One telephone interview was with a migrant being detained in Libya.
The report includes allegations of people whose real identities were kept anonymous who speak of abuse in Libya.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, when asked about the immigration policy during a visit to Italy in June, dismissed the issue. He said political asylum is not a concern for the majority of the would-be immigrants, who are mainly attracted to Europe's wealth and use Libya as a jumping-off point.
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Associated Press Writer Constant Brand in Brussels contributed to this report.
